https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916654525 Urban Education 2019, Vol. 54(1) 126–147 © The Author(s) 2016 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0042085916654525 journals.sagepub.com/home/uex Article Book Deserts: The Consequences of Income Segregation on Children’s Access to Print Susan B. Neuman 1 and Naomi Moland 1 Abstract We examine the influence of income segregation on a resource vital to young children’s development: a family’s access to books in early childhood. Income segregation reflects the growing economic segregation of neighborhoods for people living in privilege (1%) compared with those in poverty or near-poverty (20%). After describing recent demographic shifts, we examine access to print for children in six urban neighborhoods. Results indicate stark disparities in access to print for those living in concentrated poverty. We argue that such neighborhoods constitute “book deserts,” which may seriously constrain young children’s opportunities to come to school “ready to learn.” Keywords reading, identity, achievement gap, social, poverty, urban, academic achievement, Urban Education, literacy Every large city in the United States, whether economically vibrant or wither- ing, has higher and lower income neighborhoods (Jargowsky, 2014). The aver- age socioeconomic status of these neighborhoods, however, varies considerably. 1 New York University, New York City, NY, USA Corresponding Author: Susan B. Neuman, New York University, 239 Greene Street, New York City, NY 10003, USA. Email: sbneuman@nyu.edu 654525UEX XX X 10.1177/0042085916654525Urban EducationNeuman and Moland research-article 2016